Originally Posted by
godisawesome
I think TLJ is *trying* to have more complex arguments and themes than other Star Wars films, but has a poorer plot than its concepts require. Some of its ideas are undercut by its own writing, or run into issues with the good character work done in previous films, or simply isn't quite as original or groundbreaking for the Saga as the film supposes.
For instance:
- You're right about how Finn's run at the battering ram is supposed to be a different context than Holdo's hyperspace ram, but both have some issues that can throw off a more critical analysis. Not only was Finn's charge unclear in whether or not he'd succeed, but the dramatic message is betrayed by delaying the firing of the cannon until Rose kisses him, making it look like he could have reached the cannon, at least, and Rose's message is rendered meaningless when the film hasn't developed a righteous wrath in Finn so he'd be "fighting what he hates," and when his actions would have objectively saved lives that he loves at that moment. Meanwhile, Holdo's charge - while utterly beautiful - was the culmination of a plotline that painted the First Order and Resistance as lacking common sense in their military tactics and analyses, relied on writing Holdo as a Captain Queeg type character neither properly briefing her men nor maintaining control of her crew when challenged while *trying* to portray her as a reasonable authority figure at the end, and never explains why no one has used a such a disproportionately effective tactic as the hyperspace ram before.
- You're also right about how Kylo Ren's line is in actual fact the opposite of what the film's trying to argue - because he's the villain and we've actually entered the "reconstruction" phase of the the film's Deconstruction-Recosntruction Fix. That's why Luke shows up to save the day; the point is supposed to be that he's come to realize how he's given into cynicism and made a mistake. But starting out by so radically ignoring Luke's altruistic history, "breaking" him just a *bit* too much and undermining the tragedy that's supposed to be at the center of it all by ignoring certain implications because they'd be inconvenient regarding Kylo? You're telling me that Luke not only became totally disenfranchised with the Jedi and apathetic about the rest of the Galaxy because he ignited the lightsaber over his burgeoning school-shooter of a nephew, but that I'm supposed to feel sympathy for Kylo when his next action was to murder dozens of other students and make a murder cult out of the rest, and that Luke's not going to express any real guilt over those other students who died ro express a pull towards acting as at least a medic in the Galaxy? Please!
- Trying to use Rey Random and Broomboy to show that anyone can be a hero/Jedi is nothing new. Even the OT showed that anyone could be a Jedi, from the farmboy to the old hermit to the weird little creature in the swamp. And since the PT used the Chosen One archetype as something to deconstruct and render tragic by subversion, trying to effectively repeat it but straight this time means you *need* to focus on developing the character as a person... Not writing them in a sexist way, contorted around a villain you won't properly recontextualize for her while trying to inject "uncomfortable intimacy" when the villain has already violated the heroine's mind against her will via torture and maimed and murdered her friends. And the Everyman theme isn't just covered by previous Jedi protagonists, but by Finn in TFA, where he went from nameless and faceless henchman to hero. And eliminating any other challeneg to the character by botching the Rey Random reveal only exacerbates the accusations of her being an unbelievable and uninteresting character. TFA gave Johnson a lot of material to work with... And Johnson got enamored with messages instead of characters.
- Evil war profiteers and exploitive businessmen? The Confederacy of Indenpendent Systems would like to have a word about I why that's laughably small potatoes compared to the PT. As would those slave kids you showed on Canto Bight when you had Finn and Rose free the animals and treat it like a victory... Even though those animals will be rounded up hours later and those slave kids are still slave kids. And ignoring Finn's history as a child slave soldier because you're uninterested in the character doesn't help either - nor does taking all your new, diverse cast members and sticking them all in a plotline where they make the situation worse because they won't listen to the white woman.
- And finally, in regards to the general stakes of the film and audience investment, Rian Johnson unintentionally wrote a smaller, less complex Galaxy by ignoring even the little world building in TFA. If the Galaxy won't respond logically with wrath at Hosnian Prime and Starkiller Base's destruction... If the First Order is suddenly a bloated, blundering collection of idiots with infinite resources instead of the sleek evolution from TFA... Character archetype means more than character development... How can I say this film is an evolution over the OT and PT, plot wise?